A pigeon in hawk’s feathers: Harper on security

The prime minister is quite right — the highest purpose of government is to protect its citizens. Why, then, does he try to scare the bejesus out of them every day?

I thought leaders in times of crisis were expected to keep calm and carry on, maintaining stiff upper lips and carrying sticks bigger than their tongues. Not our guy. He mongers fear across the land — fear of criminals, fear of terrorists, fear of Iran, fear of Russia — fear in every case gussied up with purple prose, proud to be certain, proud to be loud.

It’s commonly assumed that all this fear will help Mr. Harper win the coming election as he poses — against a lurid background of crime and terror — as a tougher SOB than his rivals, at home and abroad.

I’m not so sure. I think folks might well tire of all this fantasy, see through the hypocrisy — the collision of tough talk with tepid action. All hat, no cattle.

Make no mistake: internationally — and to an extent I doubt most Canadians appreciate — the Harper government’s shrill rhetoric has cost us dear. Our UN Security Council loss was just the most obvious example.

The Harper government has been, by Canadian standards, uniquely bellicose in the world. Our government has been vocally skeptical about a nuclear deal with Iran. Our government is the only one to have labelled Russia “evil”. Our PM is the only one who had to “guess” whether he’d shake Russian President Putin’s hand (although he made sure his press secretary let everyone know how brave he’d been). Other G-20 leaders saw fit to mind their manners. Of course, those leaders — unlike ours — might actually have some role to play in bringing peace to Ukraine.

It’s mostly smoke and mirrors. Our leader’s macho poses don’t bear up to scrutiny. He’s not much good at following up with action.

If the world is, quite suddenly, such a dangerous place, why is our defence budget so modest? Why is our weapon procurement process such a disaster?

If Vladimir Putin is the 21st century’s answer to Adolf Hitler, for instance, then why did Mr. Harper lead the opposition at NATO’s Wales summit against a U.S./UK pitch for a boost in defence spending? (It’s worth remembering that when President Obama convened a core-group Ukraine huddle at that summit, our PM — Kyiv’s most certain friend — was simply excluded.)

And if Russia is such a dire threat to our sovereignty in the Arctic, then why is our presence in that region so feeble after all those years of press releases and PMO photo-ops?

If the world is, quite suddenly, such a dangerous place, why is our defence budget so modest? Why is our weapon procurement process such a disaster?

If we’re such a good friend of Ukraine, why aren’t we giving that beleaguered state more help — faster and with fewer conditions? Looking at our record and rhetoric, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that we led Ukrainians to underestimate the risks of picking a fight with the Kremlin — and to overestimate the help they’d get from us if they did.

It is passing strange that neither the Liberals nor the New Democrats have taken Stephen Harper to task for the fundamental incoherence of his tough-guy foreign policy stance — the fact that he isn’t prepared to pay the price. All his hawkish rhetoric notwithstanding, he won’t pay for the machines — the fighters, the helicopters, the icebreakers — our forces would need to keep his promises … not if doing so would disturb the balance of a pre-election budget, a priority clearly higher than foreign policy coherence.

Not only are we short-changing the military, we’ve apparently given up on negotiation. We shut our embassy in Tehran down. With Ukraine, we were the only country to withdraw our ambassador from Moscow at the height of the crisis in Crimea. Across the board, our diplomats have been muzzled and marginalized, their operations nickel-and-dimed to death.

I like to think folks might be catching on, seeing through the hypocrisy in our tough-guy stance. The Harper government’s record in the world is nothing to run on. It’s a train wreck.

A recent EKOS poll gives me hope. It suggests that Harper’s message of fear resonates most with the Tory base, but that most Canadians aren’t buying it — and don’t think our civil rights should be trampled because one twisted terrorist stormed Parliament last fall. Bill C-51 may not be nearly so popular as the Tories like to think.

Surely our PM has better roles to play in our lives than fanning the flames of fear. There is no leadership in that, no valour, nothing to run on.

Surely our country has better roles to play in the world than ‘strident windbag’. There is no glory in that, no hope, nothing to stir our pride.

Christopher Westdal is a consultant, corporate director and occasional commentator on international affairs. A former Canadian diplomat, he was ambassador to Russia (2003-06), the UN in Geneva and the Conference on Disarmament (1999-2003), Ukraine (1996-98), South Africa (1991-93) and Bangladesh and Burma (1982-85). In Ottawa, he worked in Foreign Affairs, CIDA and the Privy Council Office. Mr Westdal lives in Chelsea, Quebec.

The views, opinions and positions expressed by all iPolitics columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of iPolitics.

28 comments on “A pigeon in hawk’s feathers: Harper on security”

What an utterly superb poignant column!
We need to hear much much more from Christopher Westdal.
Thank you! And yes! Canadians are indeed rallying with a steely will to
kick this regime to the curb.
It’s been a lonely task as our press have largely remained complicit with all things Harper.
They have betrayed Canadians so massively and to what end?
Kudos again! and thank Heaven for iPolitics.

Sadly you are right about our MSM in general they have supported Harper and looked the other way at his many foibles. Many of us were accused of stirring up conspiracy theories that Harper had a hidden agenda and by G**d he was going to have his way.. Well that agenda is no longer hidden, he has had a majority since 2011 and in the past 4 years has systematically been cutting funding from every program that in the past has made Canada a strong nation..cuts to our Military, cuts to CSIS, cuts to our Veterans, cuts to our Correctional Prison system, cuts to lakes and rivers, cuts to Parks Canada, cuts to programs that help women’s shelters and families who have been abused, cuts to foreign affairs embassies, cuts to diplomatic service, cuts to our scientists, cuts to environment programs…all so that before the next election he can serve up a surplus…a surplus not through job creation, but through job cuts.

Wonderful column. People are getting so tired of this nonsense. Sure, there are probably some terrorists and/or wannabes around, but I live in downtown Toronto – according to a news report tonight, a target of some guy captured by the border service, although he probably didn’t have the wherewithal to do much of anything – and no one is cowering in fear. No one is staying off the subways or huddling in their homes on a nice spring day. Get a grip, Steve. Or better still, let us get a grip for you and boot you out of office.

CBC went completely nutty over that story in Toronto!
They made fools of themselves with the ridiculous coverage.
Harper and his gang really loathe Toronto.
Does anyone recall him being interviewed before the summit as all of the barriers were being erected?
It was so obvious that the guy was COUNTING ON and HOPING FOR violence.
It truly gave chills to watch him as he gave these horrible vibes he couldn’t hide.

Orwellia took over Harperland these past few days with Harper outright lying in the House (again), saying that he never called a/the Islamic culture “anti-women”. Said it in the House on Tuesday, video evidence is there, and then turned around on Wednesday and lied, lied, lied like a sidewalk saying he said no such thing.

But that wasn’t the end of his performance. No. Now he, and his minions, are telling Canadians that it is not Conservatives, no, who made these xenophobic statements. In fact, it’s the Liberals and NDP who are playing politics and sowing the seeds of division. We’re not racists – they are! And the Jews agree with us, so there! Nyah!

OH!! You know what I think, No Harp(er) Seals?????
Have you ever seen that movie Ben-Hur?
I didn’t even know what it was about till I saw it.
There’s a Roman centurion being a bleepin’ jerk, and then Jesus looks at him… all you see is the back of his head… and this guy suddenly looks totally ashamed and filled with guilt for being such an (bleep!). He looks like he wants to crawl under a rock.
That’s what would happen if Jesus looked at Stephen as he tries to set everyone against each other.
I found the clip! Look at youtube for ben-hur no water for him.
I actually very much pity Harper, because of the legions of yes-people who enable his fake persona.
The only thing genuine about him is his meanness, it seems.

Watched the clip – very moving. (Of course, Chuck Heston didn’t understand Christianity either, with his NRA “cold dead hands” crap). I should note I am an atheist, but was very drawn to Christianity when I was a teen so am familiar with the belief system.

It breaks my heart that the Canadians who act like Jesus did in that clip are being hunted and disenfranchised, and now threatened with terrorism charges, for standing up on behalf of vulnerable people, our ecosystems, our creatures, etc. Breaks my heart.

These sham right-wing evangelicals are full of shit but they don’t see any disconnect between the articles of their professed faith and how they think and act.

It is their think tanks and lobbying organizations that should have the light shone upon. Who’s funding who? Who’s really in this game?

Who funded your campaign, Harper?

And please, since none of you act like Christians, why not just drop the pretense?

I totally agree, NHS.
So tell me, is it not easy to figure out which character was most like the present day Stephen Harper?
I knew nothing about that movie when I watched it, but learned later that it was famous for a chariot race scene.
All I could remember though was the centurion’s face.
(I noticed there’s a clip called water for jesus where Chuck returns the favour as well.)
My life has been basted in both authentic Christianity and traditional native beliefs.
And there are Christians, then there are Christians.
There are Christians like the people who prayed and then tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge 50 years ago in Selma to affirm their right to vote.
Then there were the Christians that beat the **** out of them for trying to do it.
On Democracy Now, they interviewed a man who was punched so hard in the face by a sheriff that the cop broke his own hand.
And I bet ya most of those people said they were Christian.
Interesting, isn’t it, that the Fair Elections Act makes it harder for aboriginal (and other) people to vote… a group that could turn the tide against S.H. if they all decided to vote.
But he’s taken care of that by covering all his bases.
So my conclusion: Tommy Douglas, MLK, Diefenbaker (who worked very hard to give Indians the right to vote): Christians.
Stephen Harper, 1965 Alabama State Troopers, ticked off centurion: “HMMMMMMM.”

Agree. Look at Elizabeth May – she’s a Christian, and an exemplary one.

If you haven’t seen any of Chris Hedges’ videos on the internet, they are well worth looking into. Look for ones focusing in particular on the rise of the religious right in the US. The very same thing has happened here, and those evangelicals bare little, if any, resemblance to the Christianity of the New Testament.

Again, I’m a non-believer. But if your belief system makes you relate with more care to your fellows, then there’s something to be said for it. Whether it has a God in there anywhere or not.

This was great, Chris Westdal.
HA HA!! Strident windbag!
I love it.
I could see that underneath the PM’s name as he’s speaking on the news.
I don’t mean to be a disrespectful jerk, but this guy demonstrates in so many ways that he is absolutely not a tough guy, he’s just mean.
He often behaves like someone who developed an anger problem over a feeling of being slighted, and somehow was never told to get over it, grow up and be a big boy.
ALL the opposition leaders are stronger in character than he is, the tough guy act is just theatre.
The photo of Stephen speaking to an empty UN a few months ago says it all.
And I don’t think it’s hilarious, it’s sad and shameful.

Agreed…he always seems to be on edge, ready to spring and lash out. There is a lot of anger seething underneath that cloak of Harper’s especially when he is challenged or caught in a lie. This is very unsettling, especially seeing his contempt for Parliament, our institutions, our Charter and our Judiciary. This is not the type of unstable behavior that Canadians should accept from their PM..IMHO…

You know, from reading the personal accounts of people who’ve interacted with him, some of them randomly, a common thread seems to be a generally present, boiling anger.
I get the impression that the reason so many people let him have his way is because his anger is so evident, even for some that just met him, that it jars them.

I’m not so sure. I think folks might well tire of all this fantasy, see through the hypocrisy — the collision of tough talk with tepid action. All hat, no cattle. That’s everyone but the 30% of cons who aren’t bright enough to understand these type of articles.

Harper is obviously going to lose some Ontario seats in the next election so he need to make them up somewhere… and Québec, he has decided, will be it.

To do so, he’s playing on the same type of xenophobia as did former Premier Pauline Marois with her
ultra-discriminatory and unconstitutional Charter of Values.

Now, at first blush, given the crushing defeat suffered by Marois and the PQ, one would think that this is a bad strategy…

But as with all things Harper, it is about the numbers and the boutique targeting of special wedge politics interest groups.

Though the PQ was crushed, they did take 30 seats provincially.

Harper currently only has 5 seats in Québec.

So even if being a dog-whistle blowing bigot might lose him a riding here or there in urban Canada, the fact he might have up to 25 seats to gain in Québec simply by pressing the xenophobia button is WELL worth it to him.

And that is the reason for which the parade of Conservative anti-Muslim yahoo-bozo statements will gleefully march on for a good while yet… no mater how stupid and bigoted it makes him to look to those of us who would never vote for the ‘strident windbag’ anyway.

Stephen Harper personally is the biggest fraud ever inflicted upon the Canadian electorate.

Great column by an experienced Canadian diplomat. I think Harper’s overblown and over sized rhetoric has had its day. The majority of Canadians don’t trust or believe Harper, except for his diehard supports and certain group/s Harper caters to unabashedly, and they in turn will return the favor as long as he is in power. Hopefully Harper’s reign of incompetence, waste of tax $$$ and small minded parochial and divisive politics will come to an end sooner rather than later… For this Canadian it can’t happen soon enough. It will be such a relief not to have to see or listen to him and his somber and negative politics of fear.

Yes, Chris Westdal is one of the best! He is fantastic and compelling when we can see him and listen, too.
But CBC has rarely given us that chance sadly. They stick with the Harper playbook more and more.
Reading your comment about ‘relief’ when he’s gone hit home with this scribe.
I was going to write a feature about the real effects he and his sorry corrupt gang have had on the
well being not only of the country, but also its citizens.
I for one, although an incurable optimist by all definitions, am physically sickened by the man.
I don’t say that lightly. He and his absurd obedient spineless puppets turn my stomach, make my
spirits feel chilled even when they’re soaring, and his relentless efforts to flaunt the WORST
in everyone are nauseating.
He has never ever brought joy or hope or anything positive to this land.
He (and again his insidious gang) have never shown an iota of gratitude or kindness.
They are all mindless ego driven power mad greedy fools. The image of them driving around in
their crazy limos, bilking us all with their expense accounts (they’re getting fat and look as unhealthy
as can be) and generally en masse thumbing their noses at us is utterly craven and disgusting.
They are laughing at us all the while shaking in their boots, afraid of being voted out.
Just watch them closely.
They are toast and desperately try to deny it.
We ARE better than they allow.

Agree.. I guess we became too complacent never thinking that Canadians would elect someone so narrow minded and linear in his thinking that all he cares or thinks about it how to buy the next vote with the help of his supporters.. And I am being polite here..

“The prime minister is quite right — the highest purpose of government is to protect its citizens.” Of the many Stephen Harper lies this is his most deadly. His policies and laws do not protect citizens of Canada. They intentionaly shorten life spans for his Christian and Missionary position Church and its Alliance partners. These organizations need ignorance, misery and Death. He will meet their needs. Stephen Harper promised His god to make this happen and that is good for the Koch brothers.

This is the best article I’ve read for awhile on the big picture. I think Karl Rove’s go to book of Republican campaigning got a chance to bore Canadian’s to tears with all the lies they told about Iraq and other oil rich Countries they were planning to bomb,,,,like Libya, Syria, Iran, and of course heroin rich Afghanistan where the Bush’s made their first fortune. Harper has to go, it’s as simple as that. Soon it will be people who protest environment, First Nation Treaties, and even David Suzuki for inciting terrorism. There is one hiding behind every Muslim’s choice of wardrobe, don’t cha know????

Watching CPAC Security Cttee proceedings and our G Gordon Liddy lookalike, Rick Norlock, play abusive BS games with the witnesses. He’s been doing the same on other occasions. Send an email to him showing your disapproval for his bullying tactics. He and Roxanne James were behind the unprecedented challenge of their Con colleague Chair last week, and seem intent on doing the same. Guy had the nerve to ask the ACLU if they are opposed to taking terrorists off the streets, and just uttered the usual you are with us or with the terrorists push-poll BS.

Sort of like being in an old fashion Gospel meeting.
Where the preacher is warning about repent or eternal hell awaits
the difference is instead of directing the sinner to look up to Calvary,
up to the cross, up to Jesus, for your salvation.
You are advised to look down to Ottawa and their stands
your saviour Stephen Harper and his disciple’s
the Judas I-scare-idiots party.